Hetalia's Nightmare Before Christmas
by XionAmmy
Summary: Alfred LOVES Halloween. But when one of his favorite Halloween movies comes to life and starts targeting him and his friends, can he team up with Jack to save the day? Will he ever see his friends again?  Rated for saftey and not-so-mild language.
1. This is Halloween

**Happy Halloween, everyone!**

**I just decided to randomly write a story to celebrate...**

**This chapter is a songfic for "This is Halloween" from ****The Nightmare Before Christmas****, one of my favorite movies.**

**A/N: I went back and re-wrote it all in present tense. Why? BECAUSE I COULD. I'm impulsive, get used to it. This was originally supposed to be a oneshot... I suppose it could be one, but I kinda got carried away... heh heh heh... oops... -.-'**

**Enjoy~!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Hetalia, the characters, the concept of Halloween, ****Nightmare Before Christmas****, or the song "This is Halloween" which was written by Danny Elfman.**

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_Boys and girls of every age,_

_Wouldn't you like to see something strange?_

Canada walks down the road, shivering slightly. Why does America like this holiday so much? It's just so creepy…

_Come with us and you will see,  
This our town of Halloween~_

Pumpkins with faces carved in them, emitting a strange glow from within, sit on almost every porch. Many of the porches are decorated with fake spider webs, fake blood, and pretend crime scenes, among other things.

_This is Halloween, This is Halloween!_

Canada shudders once more as he passes a particularly gruesome house. This one has a fake graveyard, complete with tombstones bearing creepy epitaphs and a fake corpse hanging from one tree, a noose around its neck.

_Pumpkins scream in the dead of night!_

As he walks past the sidewalk leading to the front door, a high-pitched cackle rang out. He jumps before realizing the screech was only a motion-activated decoration.

_This is Halloween! Ev'rybody make a scene!  
Trick-or-Treat 'til the neighbor's gonna die of fright!  
It's our town! Everybody scream  
In this town of Halloween…_

Canada picks up his pace. Where is America's house? Will he even recognize it, festooned as it would be in Halloween décor?

_I am the one hiding under your bed,  
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red!_

_I am the one hiding under your stairs,  
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair!_

Why can't he stop thinking about those stories of monsters France and England used to tell him when he was a child? They aren't helping to calm him down!

_This is Halloween, This is Halloween!  
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!_

Canada swallows nervously, trying desperately not to panic.

_In this town we call home,  
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song!_

_In this town, don't we love it now?  
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise!_

Trying to find a less frightening neighborhood, Canada hurriedly turns the corner.

'_Round that corner, man,  
Hiding in the trash can,  
Something's waiting now to pounce,  
And how you'll SCREAM!_

As he rounds the corner, Canada comes face-to-face with an adult wearing a Jason costume from the Friday the Thirteenth movies. Complete with hockey mask and machete.

Canada gives a small shriek of fear as he races off, leaving a very confused man. The mystery man removes his mask, revealing himself as America.

_This is Halloween! Red and black and slimy green!  
Aren't you scared?_

America stares after Canada, the rusty gears in his head slowly turning. That explained why his normally punctual brother is late… the poor boy had been spooked by all the decorations. He totally should've expected that, maybe walked him over. What a stupid mistake. He can't be a hero if he keeps making mistakes like that!

_Well, that's just fine!  
Say it once, say it twice!  
Take a chance and roll the dice!  
Ride with the moon in the dead of night!_

Canada runs as fast as his poor legs can carry him to the area he vaguely remembers America's house being in. He yelps, startled by another motion-activated scream sound effect.

_Everybody scream! Everybody SCREAM!  
In our town of Halloween…_

_I am the clown with the tear-away face,  
Here in a flash and gone without a trace!_

Canada shrieks slightly as a clown appears on someone's garage door, rips off its face, and promptly vanishes in a puff of smoke.

This is why he hates Halloween!

Somewhere behind him, he could've sworn he heard leaves crunching. He jumps, startled.

_I am the "who" when you call "who's there?"  
I am the wind blowing through your hair!_

"Who's there?" he calls tentatively. A sudden gust of wind ruffling his hair is the only response he recieves.

Looking up, he gazes at the moon. It's the night of the full moon, the silvery orb hanging in the sky and managing to be creepy and beautiful at the same time.

_I am the shadow on the moon at night,  
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright!_

He shudders slightly and continues walking, somewhat calmer now.

_This is Halloween, This is Halloween!  
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!_

Canada still doesn't like Halloween, but now he can seek some solace in the moon, at least.

_In this town we call home,  
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song!_

_Tender lumplings everywhere,  
Life's no fun without a good scare!_

_That's our job, but we're not mean,  
In this town of Halloween…_

Canada smiles as children wearing "cute-ified" monster costumes race past him, laughing. Maybe it isn't so bad after all…

_In this town, don't we love it now?  
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise!_

He finally arrives at America's house, sighing in relief. He didn't get completely, totally, and hopelessly lost.

_Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back and  
Scream like a banshee, make you jump out of your skin!_

Suddenly, something grabs his shoulders from behind.

"BOO!" a familiar voice shouts.

Canada yelps, wriggling away from whoever it is. He whips around, finding himself face-to-face with the guy dressed like Jason once again.

_This is Halloween, everybody scream!  
Won't ya please make way for a very special guy?_

This time, America pulls off his mask before Canada gets TOO spooked and runs off again. He smirks at the surprised and frightened expression on Canada's delicate facial features. It's almost cute enough to make him feel bad for scaring him.

Almost.

"Happy Halloween, Mattie!" he cries, pulling the Canadian in for a one-armed hug.

_Our man Jack is King of the Pumpkin patch  
Everyone hail to the pumpkin king now!  
This is Halloween, This is Halloween!  
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!_

Canada gives his brother a shaky smile. He knew America was going to dress up as a character from one of his country's popular horror movies series, so he should have expected a Jason costume.

He shoves his glasses back up his nose nervously. "S-so, what are we gonna do?" he asks, trying to hide his fear.

"I was thinking we could watch Nightmare Before Christmas, since it's technically a Halloween movie and all, and just hand out candy to trick-or-treaters." America replies. Nightmare Before Christmas isn't _too_ scary of a movie. America is sure even a very jittery Canada can handle _that_ particular movie.

_In this town we call home,  
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song._

Canada smiles up at his brother. "That sounds like a great idea, Alfred."

_La la la lala la la la lala la la la lala la lala la, whee!  
(laughter)._

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**A/N: There is a certain magical button that can make me write more of this faster. See it? It's right below this~! Yes, it's the button that says REVIEW! So please, drop a review. Remind us that we _are_ loved and there _are_ people out there that enjoy our work.**


	2. Jack's Lament

**Chapter two! It's here! It's here!**

**This chapter also has lyrics throughout, but not all chapters will… especially once we begin deviating from the movie's storyline.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ****Nightmare Before Christmas****, I don't own Hetalia, I don't own the characters of either, and I don't own the soundtrack of ****Nightmare Before Christmas****. Danny Elfman wrote the songs, I don't remember who made Hetalia, Tim Burton wrote the original poem "The Nightmare Before Christmas", and Disney made the movie out of the poem.**

**Enjoy~!**

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Jack walks away from the center of Halloween Town. All the other citizens are still celebrating this year's festivities. Another frightening Halloween, one that everyone had enjoyed. Jack had fun, of course, but he still feels as if something is missing. His aimless steps lead him to the graveyard, or, more specifically, to the moonlit hill in the center.

_There are few who deny  
At what I do I am the best,  
For my talents are renowned far and wide._

Jack sighs, plopping down at the very top of the hill. He has begun to get sick of all the praise he recieves. Sometimes it's just too much!

_When it comes to surprises in the moonlit light,  
I excel without ever even trying!_

He hardly even has to TRY to scare people on any day of the year, let alone Halloween! He has gotten too good at his job over the years!

_With the slightest little effort of my ghost-like charms,  
I have seen grown men give out a shriek!_

_With a wave of my hand and a well-placed moan,  
I have swept the very bravest off their feet!_

Does he really even have to try? It's way to easy! Way, way to easy! A gesture here, a frightening noise there, and even the bravest of men scream like terrified little girls! Will things ever change? Even his failed attempt at Christmas had frightened people! And Chrismas is one of the LEAST frightening holidays in existance!

_Yet year after year, it's the same routine,  
And I grow so weary of the sound of screams,  
And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King,  
Have grown so tired of the same old thing…_

Jack sighs, wrapping one long, bony arm around his overly long legs.

Zero, his ghostly dog, floats over, wondering why Jack seems so down. Halloween used to be Jack's all-time favorite day of year! Why would he be so sad, not out celebrating his success with his peers?

_Oh somewhere deep inside of these bones,  
An emptiness began to grow._

_There's something out there, far from my home,  
A longing that I've never known…_

'Is this all there really is in life?' Jack wonders in despair, unknowingly ignoring his pet. Is he doomed to frighten people forever? Is there nothing there for him?

_I'm a master of fright, and a demon of light,  
And I'll scare you right out of your pants._

_To a guy in Kentucky, I'm Mister Unlucky,  
And I'm known throughout England and France._

He sighs quietly, simply thinking about the stories told about him in the mortal world. He has always been well-known as a terrifying character. Does anyone actually know him for anything else?

_And since I am dead, I can take off my head  
To recite Shakespearean quotations!_

Zero barks at him, begging for Jack to play with him. Shocked out of his reverie, it takes Jack a few moments to readjust to reality and aknowledge his closest friend.

"Oh, all right," Jack sighs. He tugs out a rib bone, waving it in front of Zero's nose. "Here you go, boy!" he said half-heartedly, throwing the bone for Zero to chase.

_No animal, no man  
Can scream like I can,  
With the fury of my recitation._

He watches Zero flutter about, looking for the bone. The ghostly canine lets out a few muffled barks before beginning the long journey back to Jack.

_But who here would ever understand  
That the Pumpkin King with the skeleton grin  
Would tire of his crown? If they only understood…_

No one seems to understand. He hates his job.

…

Okay, not really, but he isn't happy with what he does, either. He is sick and tired of scaring people all the time.

_He'd give it all up, if he only could…_

'If only, even just once, I could spread cheer, not fear. If, even just once, I wasn't the spook in the closet, but the hero…' he thinks sadly. He doesn't even notice right away when Zero returns with his rib clamped in translucent teeth.

_Oh there's an empty place in my bones,  
That calls out for something unknown._

He slowly stands, returning the bone to its proper place in his ribcage. He pats Zero's head, and the two slowly walk back to Jack's house.

"What's missing?" he murmurs sadly, pausing at the elaborate gate of the graveyard. "I'm constantly praised by people, every year. Why do I still feel like something's missing?"

_The fame and praise come year after year,  
Does nothing for these empty tears._

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**A/N: Well, no one reviewed (lol didn't give ya the chance!) so now you get to read the whole thing!**

**I have no clue how long this will be, I'm just writing this. The plot kitty for HNBC is the one telling me what to do. Like I said, this was originally supposed to be a oneshot, not a multi-chaptered story. I'll try not to make it too long, though (not that it'll be very short... -.-').**

**I dunno which one was harder to write... this chapter or the first one!**

**Chapter one was not set to follow the movie, but I did my best with it.  
Chapter two followed the movie a little, but it didn't really. Jack's not singing the lyrics, by the way. He just was talking in between... when he actually spoke...**

**-sigh- Just enjoy it, okay? Stop making me try to explain it!**


	3. Evil Schemes

**Chapter three is ****finally**** up! Isn't it ironic? I crank out TWO chapters in one night, and then make you wait over a week for the next one!**

**Well, no matter. This chapter has been posted, so it is no longer a big deal. Sorry it took so long, though.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ****Hetalia****, ****Nightmare Before Christmas****, or any characters or songs therein.**

**I'm also getting sick of writing these, so they're going out the window after this chapter.**

**Some (minor) romance may occur later, fluff mainly. They're in my favorite pairings, see if you can guess them... =)  
Good luck, y'all!**

**I'm listing all the characters now (if I can remember them...) partially because I totally hate it when I'm reading a story and have no idea who someone is because the author is using human names, so I'm totally lost as to which country they represent.**

**Kiku Honda – Japan  
Matthew Williams - Canada  
Alfred F. Jones – America  
Kumajiro – Canada's Polar Bear (not mentioned in Ch 1, but he WAS there)**

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Unnoticed by Jack, three children sprint past him and out of town.

Their destination: Oogie Boogie's tree.  
Their names: Lock, Shock, and Barrel, Halloween Town's local trouble makers.

Oogie Boogie's tree is a whiles away from the town, and it has a deep, trench-like moat surrounding it. It's a large, old-looking tree with a pipe twisted around it, running from high up in the tree all the way down to the ground, and then further still. Hanging from one of the highest branches and hovering at the end of the unfinished bridge crossing the "moat" is a large birdcage-like structure.

The three children race each other to the tree, stumbling every so often. When they arrive, Lock, their leader, turns to face his cohorts, removing the mask of his devil costume.

"Mr. Oogie Boogie wants us to go to the human world and capture some of the important people. He thinks it might weaken Jack, allowing him to take over Halloween," Lock whispers. "We have to work together – three of a kind, birds of a feather, now and forever."

"I'm in," Shock and Barrel declare simultaneously.

"Okay. He wants them unharmed, so _only_ bags. Get several, Oogie will get mad if we only come back with one," Lock commands, authority clear in his tone. "We're gonna use the trick-or-treat method."

Shock and Barrel nod in agreement and rushed off to get the necessary supplies.

_/_\_/_\_/_\_

Meanwhile, Jack climbs the steps to his front door, waving away the sputtering mayor of Halloween Town wearily.

"We can go over the plans _tomorrow,_ Mayor. It's late, and I need some sleep," he states firmly. With that, he closes the door behind him, ignoring the indignant and sputtered protests ("Jack, please, I'm only an elected official! I can't make decisions by myself!") as he stalks off to his bedroom, the feeling of something being missing still gnawing away at his bones. Flopping down on his bed, he soon falls fast asleep.

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Trick-or-treating hours are almost over. The movie just ended, and Alfred had long since convinced Matthew to stay for the night.

"I'm gonna change out of my costume and take a quick shower, so please hand out candy to any other trick-or-treaters," Alfred informs his twin politely. Matthew nods, causing Alfred to send him a dazzling grin. Once he left the room, Kumajiro wanders over from his cozy spot next to the fireplace and collides with Matthew's leg. The bear blinks up at its owner in confusion.

"Who…?" it begins, asking a question Matthew had long since grown used to. Matthew sighs, slightly frustrated despite (or perhaps because of) the hundreds of times Kumajiro had asked him that questions.

"I'm Matthew, Kumijari. Your owner, remember?" the teen prompts.

"Oh," Kumajiro mumbles, returning to his nice, warm spot by the fireplace. The silence was broken by the doorbell ringing.

"Coming!" Matthew calls, grabbing a bowl of candy as he rushes past. Setting the bowl down on a table convieniently placed next to the door, he swings the door open.

"Trick-or-treat!" three voices screech in unison. Matthew turns to see a boy in a devil costume, a boy in a skeleton costume, and a girl in a witch costume.

"Eh?"

_swoosh!_ "Got 'im! One down, two to go!" one voice murmurs triumphantly.

The door is left to swing shut with an ominous slam.

"Hey, Matt, whaddya want for dinner?" Alfred asks, walking out of his bedroom while running a hand through his short golden locks. When no response reaches his ears, he frowns. "… Matt? What do you want for dinner?"

He still doesn't receive a response. Where there any reasons why Matthew wouldn't respond? Had he fallen asleep? Is he listening to his iPod? Maybe Alfred made Matt angry enough to change his mind and go home somehow... but what had he done wrong? Alfred can't think of anything off the top of his head.

… Could it be that… something happened to Matt? Is he okay? As panicked, darker thoughts raced through his mind and worst-case senarios played their gruesome tricks, Alfred begins to search the entire house.

'I can't find anything to even indicate that Canada was ever here! If someone took him, they must be pretty good at making people disappear...' he thinks to himself, plopping down on a chair in the kitchen.

At that moment, Kumajiro walks in from the living room.

"Who are you?" the bear asks, staring at Alfred.

"Alfred," the blonde responds automatically, thoughts too focused on Matt to register the presence of his pet for a few moments.

"Oh," Kumajiro mutters. After a brief pause, Kumajiro asks, "Where's Matthew?"

"I dunno. He… wouldn't leave without you, would he?" Alfred asks nervously, praying that Canada had just left because he needed something he had left at home. However, Kumajiro shattered Alfred's every hope when the polar bear responds by shaking his head slowly.

"Three weird kids came to the door. Matthew went to answer and never came back," Kumajiro recalls, beady black eyes staring blankly at the stove.

"Weird…" Alfred murmurs, wondering where Matt could have gone after he answered the door.

_/_\_/_\_/_\_

Meanwhile, across the Pacific Ocean, Kiku Honda sat calmly in a comfotrable armchair, rereading one of his favorite books. A knock at the door drags him forcefully from his book, leaving the Japanese teen to glance at the clock in confusion.

"It's rather late. Who would be here at this hour?" he muses aloud. His instincts warn him that he _really_ shouldn't answer the door, but he does anyway.

"Trick-or-treat!" three harshly-screeching voices chorus. Kiku's eyes widened as he took in the sight of three children – a devil, a witch, and a skeleton.

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**DUN-DUN-DUN~~! Cliffhanger! Will Kiku get away, or will he be captured as well?**

**Review please! Oh, and no flames please, I don't need people who say mean stuff just to be mean.**


	4. Missing!

**I simply had to make you wait for chapter three, I apologize… but I could not stand to leave you with that much of a cliffhanger… Then I decided you could deal with it for a day or two.**

**Check the other chapters for the disclaimer.**

**New Characters  
****Lovino Vargas – S. Italy/Romano  
Feliciano Vargas – N. Italy**

**On with the story~!**

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Kiku leapt back and slammed the door shut, narrowly avoiding capture. He quickly locked every door and window in the house.

'Thank goodness for my reflexes... but what the heck just happened?' he thought to himself. This was turning into an odd night indeed. His heart pounding heavily in his chest was the only sound to be heard.

The phone rang, cutting through the tense silence. Kiku gingerly picked it up, as if it were a bomb he feared might go off. "H-hello?"

"Kiku? You okay?"

"Alfred-san..." Kiku murmured, relief flooding through him. "Yes, I'm fine. How are you?"

Alfred paused briefly before replying, "Matt vanished."

There was another pause as Kiku's short-circuiting brain absorbed his statement. "Wh-what? Matthew-san is missing?" he choked out, shocked. What the hell was going on? "How?"

"I have no clue... Kumajiro's still here, for whatever reason..."

"Matthew-san would never willingly leave Kumajiro behind unless it was urgent. Something is up."

"That's why I called. Kumajiro says Matt left to get the door for three kids and never came back."

Kiku's phone dropped to the floor with a clatter. "Three kids..." he whispered, sinking slowly to his knees.

"Kiku? Kiku? What's going on? What happened?" Alfred's voice, emitted from the abandoned phone, asked, a frightened and urgent tone ringing through it.

Kiku picked up the phone with shaking fingers. "Three kids knocked on the door a few minutes ago... they tried to stuff me in a sack..." the Japanese teen whispered, his shaking voice breaking his usual monotonous tone. "What if...?"

"What if what? They were the same kids?" Alfred snorted slightly. "They'd have to have some way to get across America and across the Pacific in a matter of minutes. It simply isn't humanly possible."

"Point, but still..."

A light beeping interrupted their conversation. Another call had come in. The lines connected, joining the third person's call with Kiku and Alfred's conversation.

"Hello? Who is it?" Kiku asked.

"Ve~ Kiku!"

"Feli? What's wrong?" Alfred asked gently.

"Fratello is missing!"

_To be continued..._

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**Another cliffhanger! Did Lock, Shock, and Barrel strike again?**

**R+R, no flames please! Unless they're to burn Shock at stake...  
Scratch that, she's necessary for the storyline. No flames, sorry!**


	5. Another Missing in Italy

**Sorry it took so long, but... like I said in my profile, my computer no longer runs Microsoft Word... and yes, it took me WEEKS to think up the idea of typing things up on FFN itself.**

**New part(s) of the disclaimer: I had Kiku use Japanese honorifics, but I'm no expert so I might mess up. Some characters may be slightly OOC, cuz I'm not an expert on them either. Plus, OOC-ness may be part of the storyline.**

**Check the other chapters for the rest of the disclaimer.**

**For the next chapter or two, I may or may not put who says what on the "paper", cuz I'm getting lazy. Check speech patterns to identify the speaker.**

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_"Fratello's missing!"_

"What? Lovino's missing? What happened?" Alfred asked, voice shaking. "My god... not another attack..."

"I dunno what happened, ve. He went to answer the door, some trick-or-treaters I guess, the door slammed shut, and Lovino never came back..."

_~Flashback~_

_"Ve~ Fratello? Will you help me with this?"_

_"Chigi! Be careful, dammit, before you drop that!" Lovino yelped, running over to help his brother carry a heavy pot of water. They hoisted it onto the stove and began to heat it up._

_"Phew... Grazie, Fratello! Ve~"_

_Lovino grunted in response, returning to the tomato sauce he was preparing to go along with the pasta. Once he had finished, just as Feliciano was preparing to cook the noodles, the doorbell rang._

_"I'll get it, Feli. Keep cooking, okay?"_

_"Ve~ Okay, Fratello!"_

_Lovino stormed over to the front door of their home. Wrenching it open, he growled, "What the hell do you want? It's nine o'clock at night!"_

_In response, the three kids at the door screeched, "Trick-or-treat!"_

_"What the-"_

_Back in the kitchen, Feliciano was stirring the pasta, getting it moving a little so it wouldn't burn. Hearing the door slam shut, he decided to ask Lovino a few questions._

_"Ve, who was that at the door, Fratello?" Feliciano called. He waited for an answer. Recieving none, he frowned. This was unusual, to say the least._

_"Fratello?" he began, walking into the entry hall. "Who was at the..."_

_Lovino was not in the entry hall. He was gone, for some unexplained reason._

_~End Flashback~_

"... and that's what happened," Feliciano concluded.

"The attacks just keep piling up... First Mattie, then Kiku, now Romano..." Alfred grumbled. "Makes you wonder, who will be next?"

_Beep beep beep..._

"Doitsu's calling. I'll connect his call to this one," Italy chirped. "Hang on a sec..."

_Beep beep beep... Click._

"Ve~ Hi, Ludwig! What's up?" Feli asked cheerfully. "By the way, Alfred and Kiku are on the line as well, okay?"

"Feli, have you seen Gilbert? I can't find him anywhere," Ludwig asked quickly, sounding worried.

"Wait, so now Prussia-san is missing, too?" Kiku yelped, shocked.

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**BAM! Betcha weren't expecting that!**

**Prussia has been captured! ... Or has he?**

**PRUSSIA TO THE RESCUE... maybe.**

**New Vote! I'm adding a villian from the nations to Oogie-Boogie's team. Who should I add? Should I use the alter egos of the "good guy" nations (IE CSA!America, Loyalist!America, Samuri!Japan [cuz i totally picture Kiku as more of a Ninja!Japan, hence his awesome reflexes], Nazi!Germany, etc.)? Or should I just send Russia?**

**Hurry, or I might use BOTH! Which could be bad, considering the fact that the CSA came close to winning the Civil War (they kicked butt in the earlier battles, doncha know)**


	6. And Then There Were X

**Titled "And then there were X" because they don't know how many are missing, and, therefore, how many are left. In math, the most common thing used to stand in for an unknown value is x, such as in the problem x+5=15. It's algebra, hopefully you already know this.**

**From here on out, I'm using a combination of human and country names.**

**Check the other chapters for the disclaimer.**

**New Characters:**  
**Ludwig - (West) Germany**  
**Gilbert - Prussia/East Germany**

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"When I came home from work he was just... gone. No note or anything," Ludwig explained. "I started calling around, looking for him, but no one has seen him at all. I'm getting really worried... this isn't like him..."

"That makes three missing..." Alfred groaned. "This is turning into a real-life horror movie!"

"Ve~ H-horror movie? I'm scared, Doitsu!"

"Don't worry, Italy-kun. I'm sure Germany-san will protect you."

"And I'll... nevermind. I'm no hero. Mathew was taken from right under my nose, and I couldn't protect him..." Alfred said, sounding dejected.

"Wait. Three missing. So it's bruder, Mathew, and who else?"

"Romano. Gilbert, Mathew, and Lovino," Alfred responded, sounding more and more depressed with each name he listed off.

"America-san," Kiku murmured, noticing the change in Alfred's tone, "this isn't your fault."

"Yes, it is! The villian was probably after ME! Poor Mattie was probably captured because he looks like me!"

"Or it was a crime of opportunity. They seem to be traveling west. Don't forget they attacked me as well, Alfred-san."

Everyone fell silent, for different reasons. Alfred was struggling to come up with a response, Feliciano was still freaking out, Kiku was waiting for Alfred's response, and Ludwig was just trying to listen and figure everythng out.

"Attacked?" Ludwig finally asked. "What do you mean, 'attacked'?"

"Three kids tried to shove me into a giant bag. I only got away because I jumped back and closed the door before they could. All the doors and windows are locked now, in case they come back," Kiku replied, a calm voice hiding his true emotions.

"Ve~ I have an idea! Let's all meet up at Kiku's house!"

"Okay."

"Hai."

"Sounds good. I'll stop by and take you there, Feli. Don't leave without me, okay?"

"Okay, Doitsu! I'll wait! Ve~"

One by one, the countries hung up. At last, Japan was left listening to a dial tone and thinking negative thoughts.

'What if someone gets attacked? What if we all get captured? What if one of us turns traitor? What if one of them was already captured, and the three kids used him to set a trap? What if...'

His thoughts were interrupted by someone knocking at the door. Grabbing an old kunai off of a nearby shelf, Japan cautiously approached the door.

Sliding it open about half a foot, he looked out into the night to see...

America, Germany, and Italy. Sighing in relief, Japan slid the door open the rest of the way. "J-just you, thank goodness..."

"Heya, Japan! Whoa, what's up with the knife?"

"America, you cannot be too cautious at a time like this. We should all be carrying weapons," Germany said simply. "What if we had been those three kids you mentioned? Japan might have had to fend them off!"

"Okay, okay! I get it already!" Alfred chuckled, clamping a hand over Germany's mouth before he could say anything more as they walked in.

Japan closed and locked the door behind them. "So, what are we going to do to help the others?"

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"Just drop the bags off here. We don't have enough to please Mr. Oogie Boogie yet."

Canada squirmed within the sack he was held in. What did they want from him?

"Who did you capture?"

Canada gasped. He knew that voice, vaguely. He couldn't place it, but he recognized it.

"What, we were supposed to ask for names?"

The familiar voice grumbled something about incompetence. Something nudged the bag.

"Maple!" Canada whimpered.

Soon afterwards, there came an indignant shout. "HEY! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR? WHAT DO YOU WANT, DAMMIT!"

"So you have captured South Italy and Canada. Anything else?"

"We tried to capture an island nation, off the coast of Asia. They got away."

"Japan? I'm not surprised. He probably still practices the ninja arts."

The voices faded away, but Canada distinctly heard one say, "We're going back to catch more people, and to try to get Japan."

* * *

They'd been talking in Japan's house for a while now. All the windows were locked, and, of course, Japan had locked the door behind America, Italy, and Germany.

Looks like he was going to have to knock, as un-awesome as that was going to be...

* * *

**Hey, look! It's Prussia!**

**By the by, I kinda need a Beta. I don't have one at the moment. Someone who's up late would be nice, cuz it's like 1:00 AM as I write this (caffine. love it! ^.^ ).**


	7. PRUSSIA!

**I had this all typed up. And then I closed the window. Not happy. If the chapter is shit, it's because I messed up and got lazy with re-typing.**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. OTHER CHAPTERS.**

**

* * *

**

"We need a game plan for what to do. We need to protect ourselves and the other nations." Germany stated.

"And get the captured ones back!"

"Yes, Italy, that too."

"Maybe," Italy suggested, "we should warn the other nations."

"No," America said quietly. "This is like a war. We don't know who to trust. Blind trust is a very bad idea. Maybe we could just fight back. They're just three kids, and we outnumber them anyway."

"America-san, that's a bad idea, as well. They may just be kids, but they still captured two nations. Canada-san is hard to take down, and we've all seen how violent he can get in hockey. Romano-kun may be a coward, but he can be tough when he needs to be."

_America. America! Hey! Hey, Alfred! Pick up the phone, you bloody git!_

America jumped, pulling out his cell phone and putting it on speaker.

"What's up, Iggy?"

"Care to explain why there are three kids at my door at 10:30 at night? Trick-or-treating is your bloody tradition, isn't it?"

Japan and America locked gazes, eyes widening in horror.

"Iggy, back away from the door. NOW!" America barked.

"What?"

"England-san, please, back away from the door! Don't answer the door!"

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you? It's just a few kids."

_"Trick-or-treat!"_ the three kids shrieked, their voices muffled by the door.

"England, please! DON'T ANSWER THE DOOR!" America yelled.

"Why not?" England shot back.

"Look. Those three 'kids' captured Canada and Romano, and even had the guts to attack Japan. Do NOT allow yourself to become their next victim!"

"Okay. I'll stay away from the door. Happy? Or should I sneak out the back door and run over to your house?"

"Japan's."

"What?"

"I'm at Japan's house, actually."

"... Fine. I'll be there soon."

"Thank you."

_Click._

"Thank goodness, we prevented another attack!" Germany said, a relieved smile on his face.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Lock, Shock, and Barrel watched as England left his house through the back door.

"Drat! Looks like that Japan person warned him somehow," Lock stated, annoyed.

"Looks like we need to find another victim," said Barrel.

Shock walked over, looking triumphant. "There's another guy next door, completely unaware. Let's go get HIM."

* * *

_Back at Japan's house, about a half hour later..._

As England walked up to Japan's house, he heard rustling in the nearby bushes. Diving in, he grabbed the collar of the person hidden in the bush.

"Hey! Not awesome! Let me go!" the guy England had captured yelled.

"Prussia? What the bloody hell are you doing?" England asked.

"I was out on a really long walk when decided to visit Japan, but his door was locked when I got here," Prussia explained. "I hung out for a while, looking for a way in, but there wasn't one. After about an hour, I was ready to give up and would've gone home, but then West, Italy, and America came over to his house. Now, I'm just spying and being awesome to figure out what's going on."

"Well then, what are we waiting for? You're ready to go in now, right? Brilliant. Let's go." Grabbing the silverette's arm, England dragged him up to Japan's door and knocked.

* * *

**GOOD NEWS. GOOD THINGS CAN COME FROM RE-WRITING. In the original, Iggy got captured, causing America to freak out and almost slit his wrists. So... yay. Now he's meeting up with the good guys.**

**Happy Holidays, merry Christmas (belated, I know), etc etc.**

**Next chappie will be back in Halloween town. Check chapter title from next chapter on for character who has 1st person POV.**


	8. Canada

**Like I said, from now on, unless it does not use a character name as a chapter name, it will be 1st person with the narrator as a chapter title.**

**Last time I'm saying this, DISCLAIMER IS IN THE OTHER CHAPTERS! Get used to it. YOU try writing this and RE-WRITING THE FREAKING DISCLAIMER EVERY SINGLE TIME at MIDNIGHT OR LATER while trying to finish quickly. GOOD FRICKING LUCK.**

**... okay, rant over, sorry bout that. sorry if the grammer sux, i spent all day being miserable, i can't sleep, and i stopped caring.**

* * *

"Dammit! What the hell do they want with us?" Lovino yelled furiously. I winced.

"Lovino," I said, trying to be louder than my usual whisper-like voice, "maybe we should try to escape."

"What? America, for once you actually had a good idea, dammit."

"... Not America," I grumbled. Almost everyone either ignores me or mistakes me for America. It's really annoying.

"Oh," Lovino said, sounding surprised. "Then who the hell are you?"

"Canada."

"Right."

For a minute, neither of us spoke. We could hear those three kids approching. Apparently, I looked like a sack of potatoes to them, because they dropped something heavy right on top of me.

"OOF! Maple!" I squeaked.

The three demon kids laughed. "Well," the girl managed between fits of giggles, "let's go get some more. Oogie Boogie said 'The more, the merrier.' Right, Lock? Right, Barrel?"

"Right, Shock!" the two boys chorused.

"Right, then!" the girl, apparently Shock, declared. "We're off!"

Their footsteps (and cackling laughter) faded into the distance once more. I wiggled out from under the heavy... whatever-it-was on top of me.

"Is anyone there? Hello?" I heard France's voice ask shakily.

"Wine Bastard? Is that you? Dammit!" Lovino demanded

"Lovino? Where are we?" France asked.

"How the fuck should I know?" Lovino responded.

"Hang on, you guys! I think... YES! My pocketknife!" I cried triumphantly.

"America?"

"No, idiota, that's Canada! America's BROTHER!"

"Oh. Really? That was my next guess."

"SHUT UP, WINE BASTARD! ... Anyway, you were saying, Canada?" Lovino prompted, sounding irritated.

"I found my pocketknife! I think I can get us out!" I repeated. "Hang on..."

Aiming away from the others, I jabbed at the bag, slicing it open. I crawled out and looked around. We were in some kind of graveyard. The moon was full, casting its eerie light over everything. I crawled towards the nearest bag and cut the strings binding it shut. Crawling to the other bag, I repeated the process and tugged the bags open.

France crawled out and instantly glomped me, while Lovino crawled out muttering in Italian under his breath. Knowing him, he was probably swearing profusely, so I didn't ask for a translation.

I patted France awkwardly on the back. He was really shaken up, shivering and not even trying to grope me. "France," I murmured, "you can let go of me now."

Reluctantly, France released me from his grip.

"I never thought I would say this," Lovino whimpered softly, breaking the silence, "but I miss that freaking tomato bastard. I just wanna go home." Tears were forming in the corners of the normally violent nation's eyes. Next to him, France nodded, muttering something about England.

"C'mon," I whispered. "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can go home. Let's find a way out of here."

"I don't care where we go, just so long as we get away from those fucking devil-spawns," Lovino murmured. France and I nodded. I stood and looked for an exit.

Just then, I heard the distant screech of gate hinges. My eyes widened. Acting instictively, I grabbed France and Lovino, dragging them behind the nearest grave.

"Someone's coming!" I hissed when Lovino opened his mouth to protest. Cautiously, I peered around the tombstone.

A tall, thin silhouette moved slowly through the graveyard, weaving about amongst the various tombstones. France suddenly grabbed me and pulled me in close. I squeaked at the abrupt and unexpected movement.

I squirmed out of his grasp, scrambled towards the edge of the tombstone, and peered around it once more.**_ SHIT_**. The shadowy figure was closer than it had been before. Ducking back behind the grave marker, I glanced at Lovino and France fearfully. We didn't know if this thing, whatever it was, was a friend or an enemy. It may be three against one, but we didn't exactly have reputations as particularly strong or tough nations. If it came down to a fight, we were doomed.

A shadow loomed over us, the same silhouette I had seen from afar. I glanced up to see a skeleton.

The skeleton was extremely thin, and his pinstriped black-and-white suit made him look even thinner. He had long arms and legs, a bowtie at the base of his thin, bony neck, a relatively small, round skull, and a permanent grin stretched across his face.

"Hello, there! I haven't seen you around before, what brings you here?" the skeleton asked.

I glanced at the others, gulping. Yep, we were **TOTALLY** doomed.

* * *

**DON'T BE SCARED, CANADA! Jack's a good guy!**

**Be on the lookout for the next update! Will we return to those who have not yet been captured? Will the demon children capture more victims? Or will Jack work to gain the trust of those who have already been captured?**

**Until next time...**

_**~ XionAmmy**_


	9. Halloween Town Jump POV

**Hey there! I'm back! We're back in Halloween Town, and those who are there will now tell the story... and reveal a major plot twist! Heh heh heh... but which plot twist do I speak of? You shall find out... um... sooner or later...**

**Sorry for any/all OOC-ness. No one is perfect, if it's a story the characters are going to act at least a little out of character since they have never been in that type of situation before. I try to keep them in character as much as possible, but they will NOT always be in character, okay?**

**Okay! Now that that's settled, on with the story~!**

* * *

**-~-Lovino's POV-~-**

I blinked up at the skeletal man towering over us, eyes instinctively (and subtly) scanning the area for an escape route.

"Wh-who are you, dammit? What the fuck do you want with us?" I managed.

He looked at me quizzically. "What do I want with you? I only just found you in the graveyard, hiding behind a tombstone. What makes you think I want anything from you?" he asked.

I managed a slight stutter, but nothing coherent. Noticing my state, Canada stepped in.

"We were attacked and kidnapped from our homes. War tactics 101 is never trust a stranger," he explained. "Until you can prove to us that you mean us no harm, you cannot expect us to trust you under any circumstances."

* * *

**-~-Canada's POV-~-**

When I spoke up, the skeleton's gaze snapped over to me. His expression was unreadable. I shrank back, hardly enough to be noticed, waiting for the inevitable question of "who are you?".

"War tactics? What are you talking about? There are no wars going on right now," the skeleton asked. I blinked. Unexpected question.

"Yeah, well, we've been through a lot of wars, and, like Canada here mentioned, old habits die pretty fucking hard," Lovino spat out, glaring cautiously at the skeleton.

"Lovino!" I squeaked, shocked by his words. In true "Lovino" fashion, he was acting tough and swearing as a defense mechanism.

"What's your name?" France asked, glancing at Lovino as he swore at me.

The skeleton sent Lovino an odd look, clearly shocked by his actions, before registering that France had asked him a question.

"Oh, right, my name is Jack," the skeleton replied at last. He sent Lovino one last look before glancing around. "Hey, where'd the other guy go?"

Lovino stared at Jack. "Who? Canada? He's right here, idiota!" he stated irritably, pointing... away from me? What the heck?

I tapped him on the shoulder hesitantly. He turned sharply. "Oh, hi Canada... Wait a second..." he began, looking confused. "If you're here, then... who the fuck is that?"

I followed his gaze. "Alfred?"

My twin glared at me. "DON'T call me that. That stupid Yankee can crawl in a hole and die for all I care," he growled.

I laughed nervously. "Okay, Al, joke's over. Seriously, what are you doing here?"

His eyes darkened. "I said, DON'T CALL ME THAT!" he yelled. I stared at him, gears turning within my skull.

My eyes abruptly widened.

"No way. No friggin' way. It's not possible. It's just not possible," France murmured.

My "brother" glared at France. "Oh, you're here too? Damn, those stupid kids didn't even get any of the strong people!"

Upon hearing this, my jaw dropped slightly and my mind went blank. Had he just insulted me, or had he forgotten I was there?

**

* * *

-~-France's POV-~-**

We were screwed. What looked like the _États-Unis d'__Amérique_ we all knew and loved was actually the _États confédérés d'Amérique_, his polar opposite, the flip side of that coin. He disliked America because, all throughout history, the two of them had never been able to agree on anything.

You see, it wasn't JUST the Confederacy, this guy was also the Loyalist, the Reds, the Japanese (in WWII)[1], and the opposite of everything America believed. They stood for the same things, but could never agree on anything and never picked up the same beliefs at the same time. He hadn't been seen for years, and Alfred was beginning to believe he had somehow died.

Not many countries had a complete, constant polar opposite, the only two that spring readily to mind are America and (sometimes) Japan.

This guy being the CSA was the one-and-only explanation for his evident hatred towards Alfred, a man with the exact same face, as well as me. I had helped Alfred gain independence, and then had not helped him after my leader promised I would.

I glanced at Canada, babbling in French in a futile attempt to calm both him and CSA down before things got ugly.

**

* * *

-~-Canada's POV-~-**

I couldn't believe it. No, I REFUSED to believe it. I had to be mistaken. Yes, that was it.

My hands clenched into fists as I struggled not to punch that jerk in the face. This wasn't my brother, he was too cruel to be my brother.

"Shut up, France!" the Alfred look-alike shouted. Something snapped within me.

"Shut up yourself!" I yelled. Everyone froze, their gazes snapping towards me.

* * *

**-~-Jack's POV-~-**

I was extremely confused at this point. No one would trust me, and I still didn't fully understand why. Then this new guy shows up, everyone seems happy to see him at first, but then he says some stuff and everything explodes. The longer-haired blonde started babbling in a language I faintly recognized as French, and then suddenly the shy blonde shouted.

I moved to stand between the shy blonde, identified by the mouthy brunette as "Canada" and the newcomer, another blonde similar enough in appearance to be a twin, holding out my hands to keep them away from each other. "Hey, hey, hey! Calm down, you two! There's no need to fight!" I cried desperately. Canada broke free and punched the newcomer in the face.

"Hey!" I yelped, grabbing him again and holding him back. "I dunno what's got you so mad at him, but please, calm down!"

Slowly, the blonde calmed down, still thrashing around in my arms at first. "_C'est un connard, se faisant passer pour mon frère_..." he murmured in frustration.

"I have no idea what you just said, but it's okay, that guy's gone now," I said, releasing him once he had calmed down enough. He sank to his knees.

"_Cela__ n'aurait pas pu Alfred, il n'ya aucun moyen_..." he whispered.

The long-haired blonde walked over and knelt next to him. "_J__e__ sais, je sais. Mais il est parti maintenant. Il n'y a pas besoin de __s'inquiéter_," he whispered.

"Hey, um, who are you?" I asked.

"_Come stupido di noi a non introdurre noi stessi_!" the brunette snapped sarcastically. I stared at him. He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm Lovino, the Frenchman over there is France, and the other guy is Canada."

I nodded. "Got it. Lovino, France, and Canada."

I shifted uncomfortably, glancing down at Canada, who was still shaking, the poor boy.

"Why don't you three stay at my place? After all, it can get pretty cold here, and you probably have nowhere to go anyways, so...

"Thank you, sir," France murmured. "I know we may seem ungracious, acting so suspicious of you, but... this is quickly turning into a war situation."

I smiled. "No big deal," I replied. "What kind of monster would I have to be to leave three helpless, confused, and frightened people out here alone without even offering to help?"

Lovino gave me a weak smile, the first one I had ever seen him wear, and the four of us trudged towards my house.

* * *

**-~-Unknown POV-~-**

I shivered slightly, cold despite my warm, thick coat. I was used to the cold, somewhat, but that didn't mean it didn't bother me.

I knew I didn't deserve kindness after everything I had done, but I prayed that someone, anyone, even Belarus, would find me and save me...

* * *

**Can anyone guess who the unknown POV was? Non? SERIOUSLY? It's a bit obvious...**

**-sigh- Oh well. Best get going on the next chapter... How will everyone react to the disappearance of the newest capture-ee? Will Canada, Lovi, France, and Jack find him/her? Will the captured finally remember their cellphones and call those whom they left behind?**

**FIND OUT NEXT TIME!**

**~ XionAmmy out!**


	10. Real World Jump POV

**I can't believe I've gotten this far! Normally I'd have given up by now!**

**Hey, I'll remind y'all again at the end of the chapter, but please, drop reviews to get me to write more and vote on the poll so I kinda know where this is going!**

**Warning for fail!POV's, especially Prussia's. I just can't think like him. Also! Fail attempt at an English accent. -sigh- Just work through it as best as you can. And I KNOW Prussia really falls out of character by his second time at 1st person POV, he stops talking about awesome as much and stuff.**

**I just noticed, all the people we know haven't been captured so far and are at Japan's house (or on the way there) are people who have been paired up with Japan. Weird, considering I never even planned that to begin with.**

**EXTRA THANKS TO MY AWESOME BETA, Kaito X Len - Banana Split! Kaito is really patient, and even puts up the fact that I often forget to send the chapters! Your reviews help a lot, too! I seriously couldn't ask for a better Beta!**

**Enjoy~!**

* * *

**-~-Prussia's POV-~-**

England still had a good grip on the back of my shirt when we got to Japan's place. Didn't matter, though, since it's unawesome to be dragged no matter what, so I was trying to break free.

"C'mon, dude, not awesome! Leggo!" I growled (awesomely).

"Shut up, already!" he whisper-yelled (awesome skill, but come on, dude!) in response. "Things are pretty bad and you seem pretty out of the loop so just shut your bloody mouth!"

With his free hand, England banged on the door, calling, "America! Open up! It's England!"

* * *

**-~-Japan's POV-~-**

A loud banging burst through the silence, accompanied by someone yelling.

"America! Open up! It's England!"

I stood slowly, unsheathing my katana. I opened the door about half a foot and saw England staring back at me. "Well? Are you going to let me in or just stare at me like a bloody lunatic?"

"Oh, right. Come in," I forced out, relieved. "I am so sorry, England-san, it's just..."

"Safety measures. Could've been those three kids out there instead of you," Germany finished from somewhere behind me.

I slid the door open, and promptly froze. "P-P-Prussia-san?" I sputtered, staring at the albino held in England's grasp.

"East? Where have you been?" Germany asked. It sounded as if he was standing right behind me.

England rolled his eyes. "Can we come in now?" he asked.

I blinked and stepped back. England entered, kicking off his shoes as he crossed the doormat and dragging Prussia inside with him.

"Hello, Japan, Germany. Yes, it's Prussia, I found him in some bushes. Freaked me out a little bit, the bloody git," England said calmly.

Prussia squirmed out of England's grip, glared briefly at the Englishman, and crouched to take off his own shoes. "Sorry if I worried ya, West. I just went for a walk and forgot to leave ya a note," he said, standing. "Afterwards, before I headed back, I decided to visit Japan and grace him with my awesome presence, but all of his doors and windows were locked. Not awesome, by the way. I would've gone home, but then you guys showed up, so..."

I stumbled backwards, collapsing against the wall. My mind had gone blank, I had no idea how to react. I cleared my throat quietly. "I... I think I should go check the perimeter. Make sure no one is listening in. You guys keep talking," I said quietly once I had everyone's attention. I turned to Prussia. "Prussia-san... I am glad you are all right."

Sending Prussia a final relieved smile, I walked out the (still-open) door, katana in hand, and slid the door shut behind me.

Little did I realize just how final that "final" smile would be...

* * *

**-~-China's POV-~- ::Approximately one and one half hours ago::**

When the phone rang, I honestly should have ignored it. It would have saved me a huge headache, not to mention spared me from a lot of Belarus-induced stress. But I picked up the phone anyway, figuring it might be important.

"_Nǐ hǎo_?" I greeted, putting down the book I had been reading.

"China? This is Belarus. Is Russia with you?" asked Belarus. She sounded stressed out, but if she was asking about her brother... well, the stress was somewhat normal.

"No, why? Is he hiding from you again, aru?"

"I do not know. Brother didn't answer the door," she replied. "He always answers the door, even if I am his visitor."

"I take it he hasn't installed the peephole yet, aru," I said, rolling my eyes.

"No, he has not installed the peephole. He keeps forgetting." ('Or you keep threatening him out of it,' I added internally) "But that is not the point. I cannot find him anywhere. I have checked all of his usual hiding places. It isn't like him," Belarus responded.

"Don't you have a spare key or something? You always seem to get in, even if Russia locks you out, aru," I pointed out.

"That is exactly why I called you, Poland, and the Baltics. I have searched the house from top to bottom, and I still haven't found him. The only sign he has been there recently that I could find was a stack of unfinished paperwork on his desk, one of which was half-finished."

"Should have known," I muttered. "You tend to be really thorough when it comes to Russia. I'll call Japan, I saw several people heading to his house earlier. Someone there might know where he is. I'll call you back if I find anything. I'll also call the other Oriental nations, they might've seen him."

"All right. Do not forget to call," Belarus said, her words sending a shiver up my spine, before she hung up.

Hanging up my own phone, I took a deep breath to calm myself a bit before dialing Jin's number. This was going to be a long night...

* * *

**-~-Germany's POV-~-**

When Japan's phone rang while I was trying to explain the situation to my brother, it startled us all. Japan was still outside. He had stopped by once, to let me know that no one was out there, but he was still going to patrol the area in case he had missed anything. Walking over to the phone, I picked it up.

"You've reached the residence of Kiku Honda. Can I help you?"

"Germany? Do you know what's going on?" the person on the other hand asked. "I need to ask Kiku something, aru. Is he there?"

"China? Um, no, Kiku's not in the room right now, what do you need?"

"Belarus called earlier, looking for Russia, aru. Have you seen him?"

"Hang on," I replied. Placing my hand over the mouthpiece of the phone, I turned to the others and asked, "Have any of you seen Russia?"

Italy shook his head, curl bouncing along. England and Prussia also shook their heads.

"I haven't seen 'im," America replied, shrugging.

"No, no one here has seen Russia. Japan has scarcely left the house this evening, things have taken a strange turn," I told China, removing my hand from the mouthpiece so he could hear the response. I glanced at my brother and suddenly noticed something that caused me to raise an eyebrow. Why did Prussia look so stressed out?

"A strange turn? What do you mean, aru?"

"It's a long story."

"There's time," China replied. "What's going on? It sounds like you aren't sure if you can trust me, aru."

* * *

**-~-Japan's POV-~-**

As I approached my front door, I heard a rustle in the bushes along the path. I paused, wondering if it was just a wild animal or something.

"Better safe than sorry," I muttered to myself, walking towards the bush. I had sheathed my katana on my way up the path, thinking I could pull it out quickly enough if I were attacked. Crouching next to the bush, I was just about to dig through the branches when I heard Germany's voice from inside.

"China? Um, no, Kiku's not in the room right now, what do you need?"

"Aniki? Why would he be calling?" I muttered, standing. The bushes rustled again, one a few feet away from where I was at the moment, right between me and the door. I slowly walked towards it, puzzled. I just stood there for a minute or two, staring at it, wondering if the movement had simply been my imagination. I raised an eyebrow when I noticed what looked like a pointed hat sticking out of the bush. I crouched down again, moving some of the bush's branches aside.

"What the -"

My eyes widened as blackness engulfed my vision, crying out in surprise. This time, I couldn't protect myself with a barrier of any kind.

I had been captured. And this time, there was nothing I could do about it.

* * *

**-~-Prussia's POV-~-**

I had this feeling that something bad was going to happen. I didn't know what, but this sense of foreboding had put me on edge ever since Japan went out on patrol. Germany seemed to notice around the middle of the phone call, right after he told China that we hadn't seen Russia anywhere.

I glanced out the window, wondering what was making me so nervous. I saw Japan crouch next to one of the bushes he had planted along the front walk. He seemed to be looking through it. I saw something pointy poking out.

"_Bruder_?" I called, interrupting Germany's conversation with China. "About the three kids you mentioned, where any of them wearing a pointy hat or anything?"

"According to Japan, yea, one of them was dressed up like a witch, pointy hat and all," America piped up.

My eyes widened and I raced for the door, grabbing my brother's gun off an end table as I passed (because I have awesome skills like that). Just as I grabbed the edge to slide it open...

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

I flung the door open, running out without my shoes. Taking aim for the three kids surrounding a dark-colored bag, I squeezed the trigger, the blood pounding in my ears drowning out the loud bang produced by the gunshot. Unfortunately, the shot missed by a few centimeters, although it still caught their attention. They grabbed the bag and ran off, vanishing into the night.

"No!" I shouted. I felt so defeated. They had gotten away. I couldn't save him. I slowly sank to my knees, tears slipping down my cheeks. I didn't even care that it was unawesome to cry anymore, because _those three demon-kids had Japan. _Nothing else seemed to matter.

West, Italy, America, and England ran over. Germany placed a hand on my shoulder, staring off after Kiku's captors.

"This can't be happening," I whispered. "_Mein Gott_, please let this just be some horrible nightmare! Please, someone tell me they didn't just capture Kiku! This can't be happening, _this can't be happening_!"

* * *

**-~-Germany's POV-~-**

When we heard Japan's scream, we all jumped up. I reached for my gun, only to realize Prussia had already grabbed it. The others grabbed their own weapons (except for Italy, he had a white flag. Typical.), and we all followed Prussia out the door.

When the gun went off, I ran outside ahead of the others. My brother stood at the base of the steps, gun in his hand, still held in shooting position. I could see where the bullet had gone, and the three child-sized figures racing away with something that seemed to be made of cloth and... squirming?

"No!" Prussia shouted. He sank slowly to his knees, shaking slightly. Was he... crying? No way. Prussia doesn't cry. Ever.

I walked over to him, the others running over to join me. I placed my hand on his shoulder, eyes still staring at the spot where the three kids had vanished.

"This can't be happening," Prussia whispered. "_Mein Gott_, please let this just be some horrible nightmare! Please, someone tell me they didn't just capture Kiku! This can't be happening, _this can't be happening_!"

I didn't know what to tell him. I didn't even know what to say. Japan had been captured? It wasn't possible. He was... around back, yeah, that was it. He was around back and hadn't heard all the commotion. Any second now, he was going to walk around the corner and ask why we were all out here.

"Es wird in Ordnung sein, Bruder, alles wird gut." I whispered, trying to reassure him. I couldn't help but worry that I might never see Japan, my ally and close friend, ever again...

* * *

**OH NOES! Japan has been captured!**

**Yes, I know, some characters (Prussia) were so OOC that it was sickening, but consider his position: his close friend (and possible love interest [wink wink]) just got captured by those three little jerks. You might act a little off in a similar situation (ha ha fail excuse is fail)**

**Translations****(All translations done through Google translate. It's not my fault if they're wrong.)**

**Es wird in Ordnung sein, Bruder, alles wird gut - It's going to be okay, Brother, everything will be fine (German)  
Nǐ hǎo - Hello (Chinese)  
Aniki - Big brother (Japanese)**

**Not that I wanna be a "review whore" or whatever, but if you want me to seriously crack down on this thing, inspire me and get my muse working with REVIEWS! I mean, come on, what author DOESN'T like feedback and encouragement?**

**Oh yeah, I also have a poll on my profile page. PLEASE VOTE, I dunno who to introduce next!**

**Until next time...  
XionAmmy out!**


	11. Japan part one

**Sorry for the lateness, I have been through a lot of physical and emotional stress. The physical is psycotic gym teachers, the emotional is the death of a loved one...  
****And then my other teachers had the wonderful idea of shoving assignment after assignment on top of us until we were practically buried under loads of homework. Fun, fun, fun... That put off the chapter even further...  
****AND THEN, as the proverbial "icing on the cake" my internet browser quit on me... out of nowhere. I had a very good start on the chapter at the time. I'm not exactly "happy" at the moment, my writing may reflect this. I guess I'll just save obsessively to prevent it from deleting the data on me again...  
AND THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN. I keep telling you, my computer hates me! Is this not proof? ... Well, at least it didn't delete EVERYTHING that time...**

**At the rate my life was moving when I wrote this, I eventually said, "I am NEVER going to get this done! OTL"  
But! I refused to give up, so here it is! **

**However... my issues are not something I should be forcing you to listen to. The story will now continue after one (or two) final notices.**

**OKAY! The Halloween Town I imagine is based off of the map from the "Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days" video game for the Nintendo DS. I do not own Nintendo, Disney, or Kingdom Hearts (although I do own systems and/or copies of games made by the companies).**

**I tried to write this in present tense. If it works out, I might continue the story that way. If it takes too long or flat-out sucks... well, then I shall change it to the tense the rest shall be in: past tense.**

**That's all I have to say, so...  
Enjoy~!**

**

* * *

**

As my scream dies down, my throat seems to plug itself up, preventing any other sounds from escaping. I struggle, squirming in a desperate attempt to loosen the fabric. If I manage that, perhaps I can cut it away with a knife...

A gunshot rings out, causing me to freeze in place momentarily. When my captors begin to flee, I begin to struggle once more.

"No!" I hear Prussia shout.

"P-Prussia-san!" I practically scream in response when my voice finally starts to work once more, even though I know he cannot hear my hoarse cries by now.

The trio continues to flee, ignorant of my pleas for them to just let me go, to allow me to return to my friends. Eventually, my head slams against a large, solid object - perhaps a large rock - and I am instantly knocked unconscious.

* * *

"YOU LET THEM ESCAPE?" a furious, familiar voice yells nearby, jolting me awake. Dazed, I struggle to recognize the speaker. "You promised five. You brought us two. Either your math skills seriously suck, or your stupidity allowed three captives to escape."

My mind finally stops grappling for a name, but the name it came up with does not make sense... There must be some mistake, Italy-chan would never be so cruel...

"Yeah, we let the first three get away, but the two we have gave us a hard time! One nearly beat us up with a metal pipe - " a childlike voice, possibly male, protests.

Oh, Kami... Please, let my ears be mistaken... The only person who fits that description is...

"Russia. Okay, he's pretty tough, damnit, I'll give ya that. What 'bout the other one?" a second voice, very similar to the first voice, snaps. It must be Romano-kun.

"The second got away the first time we tried to catch him, we had to wait for quite a while to get him alone and in a position where we can catch him," a second child-like voice proclaims, this one female. "He almost got away AGAIN, too, thanks to that stupid white-haired guy..."

Prussia is the only person who fit that description... had he been the one to fire the shot, the one who tried to save me?

"... but we bagged the pesky little Asian island this time!"

"Xiǎo dìdì rì? You brought him here?" another grown voice pipes up. The words of the male are slurred, but the voice is definitely Aniki's voice.

I shift slightly, praying they are not watching me, and find that, much to my relief, no one mentions my movement and the fabric is much looser, allowing me more movement. Carefully rolling so as to face away from the plethora of voices, I silently pull out a kunai and slice open the bag. Lifting the fabric so I can see outside, I scan the area for any and all available information. I seem to be in a dark, creepy graveyard with so many shadows, it almost seems as if they are there on purpose as decorations. That will be very helpful, the dark cover of night and shadows will make me very hard to notice. Hiding and escaping will certainly be made much easier by those factors.

Slipping out of the bag, being careful not to make even the slightest sound, I dart behind the nearest tombstone. I take a deep breath and peek over the top of my hiding place, praying I am not unintentionally attracting their attention somehow. In the distance, a curled up hill stands silhouetted against the full moon. The moon provides just enough light for my well-trained eyes to see clearly, the effect of the ninja training I went through so many years ago. Odd how it still affects me, but extremely useful, _hai_?

Not far from the grave I am hiding behind lies a large lump which squirms occasionally. Six figures - three children, three adults - stand near the bag I had been held in, arguing. I already know who the three children are - they are my captors: a girl in a witch costume, a boy in a skeleton costume, and another boy in a devil costume, all wearing masks.

The three adults worry me - they are people I know and trust, some of my close friends, yet some of them... some of them are people that I know are still back home. Nothing makes sense anymore... including the fact that two of the men I am spying on are the Vargas twins. Both are missing their curl for some odd reason, Romano-kun's hair is a shade or two darker than normal, both are wearing casual Italian suits, and both carry baseball bats - Romano-kun grips his tightly, his arm barely restrained by that of Italy-chan, who carries his own bat over his shoulder.

No matter how confusing I find the sight of the twins, the final figure is even more confusing. My older brother, Yao-san, stands next to Italy-chan, turned ever so slightly so I can see his face. His long, dark hair is tangled, disheveled... not unlike that of a yūrei, except that it is still held up in his usual ponytail. His clothes are also in a state of slight disarray, as if he had fallen asleep and gotten up to face a new day in a rush, or without even bothering to change from the day before. His golden-brown eyes hold a slight mist in them - this slightly glazed over, fogged up appearance. Tears pooled in the corners, threatening to spill over.

Tearing my eyes away, I take a deep breath and creep out from behind the headstone, heading in the direction of the second bag I noticed earlier. Grabbing the fabric, I drag the prone figure behind a nearby mausoleum, thanking the heavens it was placed so conveniently. Russia-teme is no longer limp - he struggles against me, probably thinking I intend to harm him.

"Sh! If they find us and recapture us, there is no guarantee we will be able to escape again!" I scold him quietly. "Hold still, I do not want to harm you accidentally."

Apparently, Russia-teme's panic is not strong enough to block out my words. He calms down, allowing me to slice away the cloth wrapped around him. As he makes his way out of the bag, I scan the area for an escape route. A tall, rusty-looking gate catches my eye. It is likely to creak if opened or even slightly moved, but the walls adjacent to it are low enough for even Russia-teme to climb without too much trouble.

"Come on, we should get out of here. Do not use the gate; if it creaks, they might catch us," I whisper, pointing in the direction of the aforementioned escape route. He nods slightly, shifting his weight as he begins the (somewhat slow) trek across the graveyard and towards the gate. I follow him at a smoother pace, glancing back to keep an eye on our captors. Just before we escape safely over the wall, I hear a shout from far behind us. Did it honestly take them that long to figure out we were missing?

"YOU LET THEM GET AWAY AGAIN? YOU... YOU BLOODY MORONS!" England-san's voice? But we rescued him, he is still back home! Did he turn against us?

"Hurry! It won't take them as long to cross the graveyard as it took us, da," Russia-teme warns me quietly, dragging me out of the cloud of panic my mind had formed around me and pushing me over the wall.

I land on the other side, turning to help him down as well.

"I can't find them anywhere, aru! Where could they have gone?"

When we hear the slurred shout, we share a momentary look and take off running. Standing around, trying to hear what they say, would only get us spotted and possibly captured. We both know that we must keep moving, keep running.

"We should... split up," I managed to gasp out as we rounded a corner, out of our pursuers' line of sight. "It will... make it... harder for... them... to catch us."

Russia-teme nods curtly before responding. "First... crossroad we... come to... da?"

"Be... careful... Russia-san," I whisper as we approach what seems to be a town square. Even if he acts like a jerk a lot of the time, the fact that Russia-san had followed me without asking any questions had earned some degree of respect from me.

As Russia-san turns to run in the opposite direction of me, I notice that his near-constant smile is absent from his face. I had never seen him without it before, save for once during the Cold War... during his final argument with America-san. This is obviously a very serious situation to him.

I pause in the shadows, trying to catch my breath. Sprinting like that for too much longer without any rests might get me caught rather than allow me to get away.

However, just as I am about to begin running again, I see four silhouettes coming out of the path I had marked as my escape route. I shrink further back into the shadows, my breath catching in my throat.

"So... you were taken from your homes? No warning, nothing? Just taken for no reason, without any kind of warning?" I hear an unfamiliar voice ask.

"Yeah, our only warning was them saying 'trick or treat' just before stuffing us in a bag," Lovino-kun's voice confirms. "We're not at war with anyone, either... For once, none of us are fighting except for some petty little arguments... Nothing major, just meaningless banter."

"Lovino's right, there aren't any reasons I can think of off the top of my head that would explain why someone wants to capture us," France-san agrees.

As the group approaches me, I slowly back up into the darkness, not noticing the bone beneath my foot until -

_CRACK!_

I wince as the echoes die away.

"Did you hear that? I think someone's back there," America-san's voice hisses. Wait... Is that really Alfred-san's voice? ... I cannot be certain, not with so much panic clouding my mind.

"No shit sherlock," Lovino-kun snaps. "Who's gonna go check it out?"

"I will, seeing as you two aren't going to even try without chickening out at the last second," America-san(?) snaps, clearly irritated.

"Thank you, Canada," France-san mutters, seeming relieved beyond belief.

Canada-san. That's who it was, America-san's brother. Alfred-san is still presumably on Earth, still safe. I take a silent breath in, trying to calm my racing heart.

One of the figures separates itself from the group, heading my way. It must be Canada-san, coming to check out what made the loud noise earlier. As he moves forward, I know better than to try to back away - there are probably more bones behind me, just waiting for me to step on them and snap them in half. Canada-san creeps closer and closer...

Just then, a loud shout shatters the suspenseful silence.

"Russia-san," I whisper, panic taking root. He must be under attack, I have to help him... I shoot a calculating glance at the small group. Lovino-kun could capture me, France-san has proven that he can overpower me, Canada-san is almost as strong as America-san, and the fourth person... I do not know who it is, but he or she would most likely be able to capture and subdue me using the element of surprise and brute force. I know that Russia-san needs my help, desperately, but...

Will I be able to make it in time?


	12. Japan part two

**I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG... I literally have Italy's attention span, that's why I write so many stories... ANYWAY, not like you care.**

**As I am sure you have noticed, this is Japan part two. This chapter and the previous one were supposed to be just one chapter, but then I actually started *writing* it, and it just kept going... And going... And going... Until I finally got fed up and just decided to cut it off so you guys can just get around to enjoying it rather than waiting for me to FINALLY end the chapter.**

**AGAIN, I have super-thanks to hand out.**

**First to my Beta: Kaito X Len - Banana Split. YOU ROCK! Best Beta ever, seriously. I'm probably one of the most frustrating writers ever, but Kaito totally puts up with it, so for that, I say THANK YOU!**

**And also to my reviewers. Screen names are in order of reviews - oldest to most recent... by first review. Being higher or lower on the list doesn't mean I value your words any less, it just means that you sent in your first review earlier or later than others on the list! NO MATTER THE ORDER, ALL OF YOU ROCK!**

**Signed: Chaos Tears, Big Sister K, BrazilianMafioso, Kaito X Len - Banana Split, BloodRoseNinja, Narlth, prettymiddy, and subaru1999 Anonymous: Is too lazy to login XP, Xoyote X3 Too Lazy To Login, UDTSCGSJFKDJ, and Sky THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR BEING PATIENT WITH ME... for the most part...**

**Okay, you have probably heard about the tsunami that hit Japan recently. This natural disaster was a tragedy, regardless of how many or few lives were lost (I forgot, or I never heard, whichever, but I can't really be bothered to look it up because that would make me too sad...). I pray that those affected will be able to fix things and pick up the pieces.**_** Higeki o kaihi suru koto wa dekimasen. Watashi-tachi wa, sonogo sakuhin o pikkuappu shite nozomu koto ga dekiru.**_

**Okay, just one last thing then I'll let y'all read the story!**

**DISCLAIMER: I know I said I wouldn't put anymore in, but humor me, kay? I DON'T own Hetalia, I DON'T own Nightmare Before Christmas, and I DON'T own the songs or lyrics used in chapters one and two. The story line, alter-ego nation characters, and OoC-ness of actual Hetalia characters ARE mine, so please don't take them. I will periodically repeat the disclaimer from now on. Thank you, have a nice day.**

**... OH, I TOTALLY FORGOT! The characters in this chapter and the last few chapters: **

Ivan Braginski – Russia  
CSA!America - no human name, known as Confederacy or CSA. Open to human name suggestions.  
Mafia!Romano - no human name, open to suggestions  
Mafia!Feliciano - no human name, open to suggestions  
Opium!China - no human name, open to suggestions  
Samurai!Japan - Honda Yasuo (or, as Kiku calls him, Honda-teme)  
Jack Skellington - Pumpkin King  
Arthur Kirkland – England  
Natalia Braginski – Belarus  
Poland - Felix (Ihavenoideawhathislastnameis)  
Baltics: Lithuania (Toris Lorinaitis), Latvia (Ravis, last name unknown), and Estonia (Eduard von Bock)

**Suggestions for those without human names encouraged! Also, if I use the name, you get a special mention in the fic AND a cyber-cookie!**

**For reader's reference: Samurai!Japan, since he is Kiku's polar opposite, IS going to use contractions and whatnot, since Kiku doesn't. What you find in this chapter (hell, this entire story) may not be entirely historically accurate. Why? ARTISTIC LISENCE. If you don't like it, you can shove it. (But you don't like it, you love it. Props to whoever gets the reference. Hint: it's a song.)**

**Okay, last thing, I **_**PROMISE**_**. This is a quick note about the Japanese honorifics: -chan is a typically feminine title applied to those that one finds particularly cute or childish; however, it can be applied to boys as well as girls. If I messed up with writing the honorifics and I'm horrifying anyone that actually lives in Japan (which makes you awesome, by the way), PLEASE let me know. Giving someone constructive criticism is NOT the same as flaming, so I actually encourage it. Plus, no author wants to make mistakes, that's why I'm freaking out over messing up Canada's human name (I thought it was spelled "Mathew", not "Matthew") in the early chapters (reason number three or four that it's being reworked: I can fix his name while I change the tense. It's a win-win).**

**Anyway, just enjoy the story. I'll talk to y'all again at the bottom.**

* * *

I do not have time to stand here, struggling over whether or not to go save Russia-san. He could be dying for all that I know. I have to get moving... standing here and doing nothing is not going to solve anything.

Deciding to risk it, I dart out, around a startled Canadian, and race across the plaza, kunai knife at the ready.

Footsteps pound along behind me. Chancing a glance back, I can see that Canada, France, Lovino, and the mysterious fourth person are chasing me.

As I approach Russia, I catch a glimpse of his attacker. My steps falter, but I pick up speed and dart between Russia and **him**.

**He** regards me with a cold, calculating glare. "Honda Kiku," he states. It is not a question; he is certain of my identity.

"Honda Yasuo," I reply, my own eyes narrowing.

Subconsciously, we begin circling each other, not about to attack just yet, but definitely preparing for the battle we both know is coming.

"So..." **he** begins, "after years of tolerating each other, we finally meet on the battlefield once more."

"Indeed," I respond calmly, my empty hand shaking slightly in rage. **He** could always bring out the worst in me, the violent anger I rarely felt outside of **his** presence. "However, Honda-teme, I beat you once. I can defeat you again."

"So confident," Honda-teme drawls, smirking. "You haven't changed much since the last time. Still too confident in your skills."

"Not confident in my skills, confident in my experience," I growl lowly, trying not to let his words get to me too much. "I have been through so much more since the last time we fought. Wars, bombings, epidemics, natural disasters... Every time a crisis happens, I grow stronger while you stay in place. Face it, there is no way you will ever be able to defeat me."

Honda-teme smirks again. "Well then, I suppose this is where I prove you WRONG!" he shouted, charging at me with his katana drawn.

Steel clashes with steel, metal flashing as we fight. His fighting style has not changed; he still fights with the exact same tricks.

"I thought you would have learned something by now," I taunt in return, smiling darkly. "But of course, you had to disappoint... you have not changed at all."

I can hear an indistinct voice calling, a distant voice, out of which I can only make out one word: Honda.

My opponent turns, as if listening for the voice. He smirks slightly, turning back to me and bowing mockingly. "Well, I simply must be going now," he declares smugly. "There are far more... _important_ issues I need to deal with."

"Any and all of your honor must have withered and wasted away, then," I state flatly. "Running away from a battle is not considered honorable for a ninja, let alone a samurai such as yourself."

He glares at me. "Consider this... training time," he forces out through gritted teeth. "A warning for the next time we fight."

I smirk slightly. 'Training time'? As if I would need it. I practically defeated him within minutes of battle!

"Because mark my words," he begins, eyes boring meaningfully into my own, "the next time we fight, I will not be the loser." With that, he turns and leaves with any traces of honor and pride he has left.

"Japan! Are you alright, da?" a strongly accented voice asks from behind me. Oh, that is right... Russia-san watched our battle. I had forgotten he was there.

"Yes, Russia-san, I am fine," I reply, turning to face him. Canada-san, Lovino-kun, France-san and a tall, thin, skeletal man gape in shock at me.

"J-Japan... and... but..." France-san manages to stammer out, blue eyes wide with shock.

Canada-san is the first person to react _without_ acting like a fish out of water. "Japan, who was that? What just happened?"

"That," I begin, gesturing after the fleeing figure, "was Honda Yasuo, the samurai bastard that suppressed my people so many years ago." I bite my lip subtly to prevent a bit of further information about Honda-teme from escaping: in times of war, Honda-teme would lock me in my room for a good most of the time and work alongside my leaders in my place, make decisions based on his own selfish desires. He would only allow me to leave my room so I could interact with allied nations, and that was only so that my situation would not be obvious during times of peace. He even went so far as to threaten me with death should I reveal the truth. The only other thing I was allowed to exit my room for was to be forced to participate in battle alongside my soldiers. I received all the training and fighting experience during the World Wars and forged all the personal relationships, but Honda-teme was the one pulling the strings while I was forced to go along with it unwillingly. I was often injured and almost died several times.

"So... basically your version of the Confederacy?" Canada-san asks, startling me out of my reverie.

I blink, still a bit out of the loop. "Um, sure?" _If the Confederacy ever forced Alfred-san to battle while he ran the country..._

"Another alter-ego nation..." Lovino-kun mutters angrily. "If we don't find a way to defeat them, we're all fucking doomed."

I nod solemnly, despite being uncertain of what exactly he meant. Russia and the others chatter on, discussing various tactics. From what I hear of their conversation, they do not know very much about this town, despite having apparently escaped a good while ago.

I turn to face the skeletal man, the mysterious fourth figure I had seen earlier. "My name is Japan, it is nice to meet you," I greet politely, bowing slightly out of habit. "What is your name?"

"I'm Jack. I'm kind of the leader of this town," he replies.

"Ah, so you live here?" I ask politely.

Jack-san nods. "It's a nice town, although the citizens have trouble grasping the concept of things being anything other than scary or creepy," he explains, seeming almost defensive in a way.

"That reminds me quite a bit of that American movie," I say, smiling slightly. "I believe it was called _The Nightmare Before Christmas_."

It was hard to tell since his head was just a skull, but it looks like Jack-san is raising an eyebrow. "Is that so? Would you mind telling me more about it?" he requests, a smile on his face. It is almost as if he already knows about the movie and is asking more for entertainment than actual curiosity.

I shrug. "I do not know that much about it," I admit apologetically. "Just that it was based of a poem with the same title written by a man called Tim Burton and that it was about the citizens of Halloween Town attempting to host Christmas one year. They fail miserably and the people on Earth are terrified by the gifts they receive. The skeletal leader of Halloween Town's citizens realizes his mistake at the last moment and saved..."

Here I am forced to pause, frowning as I search for a name. He was a very iconic character in America's culture, I remember that much, but the name seems to have slipped my mind. "I believe he is called Father Christmas in American culture?" I falter slightly, trying to recall. "No, that is not the American term... ah, Santa Claus? Yes, that is it. After that, the aftereffects of the events are revealed, then the movie ends." I frown internally when I finish telling him about the movie I have not seen for quite a while. Memories had been stirred, including three children very similar to my captors and a skeleton very similar in appearance to Jack-san.

He smiles. "That was a rather detailed explanation. Are you sure you don't know much about the movie?"

"I cannot even remember the name of the main character," I respond, face flushing. "That was barely the story line, and I only remember Santa Claus because Italy-chan memorized all of the various names for him. He and America-san become very excited about Santa Claus arriving every December."

"I see." After Jack-san's short statement, we lapse into silence. A prickling sensation on the back of my neck, as if someone is watching us, makes me jump.

I turn to search the shadows for the source of the strange sensation. Before I can, however, I feel a definite pinprick.

"Ow," I whisper through gritted teeth, rubbing the back of my neck, fingers rubbing the site of the tiny wound.

"What is it?" Jack asked, a concerned look on his face.

I bite my lip. "I am not sure. Probably nothing," I reply uncertainly.

Jack-san and I return to talking. The sensation and pinprick I felt linger in the back of my mind, taunting me. I continue shaking my doubts away, insisting to myself that I was just imagining things.

Slowly, however, I am forced to admit that _something_ is wrong. My legs are weakening, my knees are close to buckling, and my eyesight blurs momentarily on occasion. I stumble forward suddenly, stomach churning unpleasantly at the sudden movement.

Jack catches me at the last moment, alarm and concern etched in his features. "Japan? Are you alright?" he asks. Hearing him, the others turn to face us.

"I-I am fine," I reassure them, forcing myself to stand and stumble away from the others.

My legs give out suddenly, leaving me to crash to the ground without warning. Jack-san and the others rush towards me, trying to help somehow. Canada-san checks me for injuries, muttering in a Canadian dialect of French.

Russia, however, runs past me and into the shadows. When he returns, he is dragging along an upset-looking Honda-teme by the ear.

"That was playing dirty, da?" Russia-san growls. "Attacking with something to knock him out from the shadows."

"That is how ninjas fight," Honda-teme argues, smirking. "I was just giving him a taste of his own medicine."

Russia-san isn't buying it. "That is beside the point. The past is the past; revenge may be a dish best served cold, but Japan doesn't fight by springing out of the shadows anymore," he states coldly. "If he wants to fight someone, he doesn't rely on sneak attacks to gain the upper hand, he faces his opponent head on."

Russia-san and Honda-teme continue to argue, no longer paying attention to the rest of us. Just listening to them is starting to give me a headache, so I choose to focus on Canada-san, France-san, and Lovino-kun are doing instead.

"France! Come on, don't do things like _that!_" Canada-san hisses, sounding mortified. "I doubt Japan would want to be taken advantage of!"

I struggle to lift my head, wondering what Canada-san is talking about, but find that I cannot move. I cannot speak, move, or make any sign that I am awake. I can blink and move my eyes, but that is all I can do.

Thankfully, my body is numb enough for me to be blissfully unaware of France-san's actions. Judging by the chastisement he is receiving from Canada-san, whatever he was doing was fairly... _inappropriate_, to say the least.

Lovino-kun has taken cover behind Jack-san, both of whom are watching intently as the odd scene plays out.

A sickening _thwack_ fills the air, drawing my attention back to Russia-san and Honda-teme. Russia-san's typically innocent, childlike smile is gone, replaced with the creepy, cruel smile he reserves for the Baltics and his enemies. The first time I ever saw it personally was during the Cold War between him and Alfred-san.

Russia-san's arm is raised, his trademark silver pipe ready to deliver another blow. Honda-teme himself is a whimpering, cowering mess. He babbles continually in Japanese, apologizing with every other word. I clench my eyes shut as Russia-san's pipe whistles through the air, not wanting to see the blood splatter everywhere as the blood-curdling _thwack_s fill the air. He may deserve it, but that does not mean my stomach will be strong enough to handle it.

Just trying to imagine the wounds being inflicted on my alter-ego at Russia-san's hands cause me to become lightheaded. I open my eyes, trying to avoid the mental image, and come face to face with the dead body of Honda Yasuo. Bile rises up my throat as my world fades to black...

* * *

**Okay! Finally got it done! I'm sorry it took so long... I was rather distracted by school assignments. However, it's done now, so... yay.**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


	13. SUPER IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!

******I'm sorry to say that this version of "Hetalia's Nightmare Before Christmas" is going to be discontinued.**

**Trust me when I say I am very disappointed in myself for having to post this. It's very unfair to you all, especially since I promised some of you updates when I replied to your reviews. I broke those promises, and I hate having to break promises like that. You were expecting me to pull through, not give in to the writer's block.**

**I am so, so sorry! It's been over a year since my last update. I know, all of you were expecting an actual **_**chapter**_** after so long of a wait, and I disappointed you. I'm sorry.**

**However… looking back at the story, I realized how much my writing style has changed. Sure, some of you like that style of writing. I get that. I'm not happy with it, though. I just can't stand to keep looking back on chapters that are written so... I can't even explain it.**

**In short, ****I'm going to rework the story—but don't worry, I'm just going to alter the style of writing and a couple minor details, not the major plot points, I promise. The reworked version will be posted as a separate story; this version is still going to stay on FFN.**

**On a much brighter note, the new version will be posted October 31st, 2012. The reason why I'm going to wait so long is to post it on a significant date, much like how the original (and this notice, however unfortunate) was posted. The good news is that I'll have all the current chapters reworked by then and may have even finished a few more chapters. The gaps between updates will, hopefully, be less sporadic... well, until what I've posted catches up with what I have written at that point, at least.**

**Be on the lookout for the first chapter of the new version Halloween 2012!**


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